Natixis AM completes blockchain transaction in fund distribution

Natixis Asset Management has announced that investors have purchased shares in the firm’s funds through a blockchain-dedicated fund distribution platform for fund managers, FundsDLT.

FundsDLT results from a cooperation between Fundsquare, InTech and KPMG Luxembourg.

The platform is designed to trimming administration costs and the time to process transactions for both asset managers and other asset providers.

FundsDLT will streamline a range of fund administration and order-routing tasks by using blockchain to automate several processes.

Said Fihri of KPMG Luxembourg, said: “It is really exciting to be part of such a tremendous step forward. We not only replicated trades in the blockchain; we moved real cash and invested in a real fund. We are close to having an industrial product that could be used in different configurations: distributors, IFA, robo advisors and D2C.”

Olivier Portenseigne, managing director of Fundsquare, commented: “We are proud to have run the first real blockchain transactions in the history of investment funds. It was important for us to demonstrate that FundsDLT works in order to create the necessary trust that blockchain will answer the current needs of the asset management industry in terms of operational efficiency and digitalisation. This will give our customers easy access to a powerful new generation of services.”

Matthieu Duncan, CEO of Natixis Asset Management, said: “Natixis Asset Management is delighted to have contributed to this pioneering first blockchain enabled trade via the FundsDLT platform. We believe the potential for blockchain technology to enhance distribution mechanisms in the asset management industry is very significant.”

Adrien Paredes-Vanheule is French-Speaking Europe Correspondent for InvestmentEurope, covering France, Belgium, Geneva and Monaco. Prior to joining InvestmentEurope, he spent almost five years writing for various publications in Monaco, primarily as a criminal and financial court reporter. Before that, he worked for newspapers and radio stations in France, in particular in Lyon.